The Packers and the Cowboys, two storied NFL franchises, are once again on a collision course to determine NFC supremacy.

The two front-runners meet Thursday in Texas Stadium with an inside track to home-field advantage throughout the playoffs on the line, but most New Yorkers will be shut out from watching the showdown in their living room.

That’s because the game is on NFL Network, which is not available on Time Warner or Cablevision, the two services that are in most homes. So if you want to watch this clash of NFC titans take a trip to your local saloon (make sure they have Direct-TV) or hop a flight to Dallas or Green Bay, where the game is available on local TV.

The dispute hinges on both factions trying to fatten their already bulging pockets.

The NFL would like its network to be available on a basic cable package at a 61 cent cost per subscriber per month, while the cable companies would like to make it part of a premium sports package at a significantly higher price.

It is available on satellite and telephonic services, which are available in approximately 35 million of the 115 million homes with TVs. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he would be willing to discuss giving the cable giants an equity share of the network, but does not expect a deal this season.

Willie Davis was a defensive lineman for the Packers in those late-’60s games against the Cowboys, including the historic Ice Bowl, and is shocked this year’s team may duplicate the success of which he was a part.

“Absolutely, I am excited [about the renewal of the rivalry],” said Davis, now president of All-Pro Broadcasting, which owns radio stations in California and Milwaukee. “If anybody had told me at the start of the season the Packers would be 9-1 [both teams were 9-1 heading into yesterday’s play], I would have said you probably have those numbers reversed.”

The Packers had won 12 games combined over the past two seasons, with Brett Favre’s play erratic and the possibility of retirement looming.

The Cowboys had a quarterback question of their own. Would Tony Romo recover from his muffed field-goal hold in the final seconds of their 21-20 loss to the Seahawks in last season’s wild-card playoffs?

Favre put off retirement for at least one more year and is playing like the Favre of old, while Romo has ended any doubts that his gaffe would affect his play.

“There were two outstanding quarterbacks back then in Bart Starr and Don Meredith,” said Dan Reeves, a running back with the Cowboys when they lost to the Packers in those two NFL Championship Games and now a host on Sirius Radio. “It is a lot like this matchup, with Romo reminding a lot of people of a younger version of Favre. They are clearly the best two teams in the NFC.”

On Jan. 1, 1967, the Packers went into Dallas and knocked off the Cowboys 34-27 to reach the first Super Bowl, where they defeated the Chiefs, 35-10.

On Dec. 31, 1967, the teams met again, this time in the Ice Bowl. With the Green Bay temperature at minus 13 degrees, the Packers won 21-17 on a late Starr touchdown sneak, then defeated the Raiders 33-14 in Super Bowl II.